Mass Effect

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Alfa
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Mass Effect

Post by Alfa » Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:42 am

Let me start with technical matters.
Graphically it is a bit better than the original. Eventually something was done with the hopeless face shading, nowhere is black background appearing instead of textures (Therum - after patch). Only once, after quite a twisted maneuvering of the camera, I managed to look "behind" the textures. And that the graphics level of ME is not above average? It is nothing that we see on the screen that allows you to fully and enjoy the story being conveyed. That's enough for me.

Errors with sound design are finally also gone. It is true that in the ME 1.0 version they were not there either, but after the update to 1.1. it almost hit me. And the soundtrack itself is ... okay, a few old songs (e.g. on a galaxy map), some new ones, nothing that would stay in my memory for a long time. I really like the opportunity to listen to the songs from the first part in the captain's cabin, a small thing, but I'm glad. Another thing for me is important - the ending song (after all, they say for a reason that no matter how you start, it matters how you finish) - I know, it's purely a matter of taste, but I just didn't like it. Too pompous track for such a solution of the action.

On the one hand, the new interface is great - I am a supporter of minimalism in this matter - because if we do not bring up the skill field, you can hardly see it and in terms of color, it suits me very well (and personally, I would completely remove the map, in ME locations you cannot get lost anyway ), but on the other hand, it has two disadvantages that a PC game simply does not have to have. Where are the keyboard shortcuts and wheel mouse support? In ME1 I read the code in full, I did not do it here, because how much you can manually scroll non-short texts.

Another issue concerns loading locations. Perhaps this is due to the weakness of my equipment (or its poor optimization - 8800GT, 2GB RAM, Athlon X2 5600+), but loading locations on Normandy took a long time (not counting the captain's cabin), sometimes even longer than such an Omega or the Citadel. I realize a lot of people didn't like the elevators theme in ME1 (we even have a reference to it in Miranda's quest), but instead we have images of Normandy and game hints from the devs (and for what the hell? - the same goes for the tutorial screen and achievements popping up when you least need it). At least every now and then there was some dialogue in the elevator.

On a different barrel: it did not happen often, but a few times I got on some crates so that it was impossible to get off them, only the earlier entry helped. My companions sometimes bent the laws of physics to their own will and they carelessly ran in the air. Plus, they've got their own teleportation devices up their sleeve, too bad Shepard didn't get one. However, it must be admitted that NPCs were much less likely to mindlessly exposed themselves to being shot, and even had some benefit from them. There is a clear improvement, maybe we will get a really refined AI to close the trilogy. And one more serious mistake - in Thane's loyalty mission, every time I tried to act like a Paragon during an unexpected meeting with a mechanic, my game stuttered - the effect of not being able to successfully complete the mission. In the end, I had to knock out the poor man, only then did the action proceed normally. Also, for 50 hours of playing, there aren't too many bugs and they don't bother you a lot (as long as someone makes frequent entries, like me). It is positive.

I wonder what happened to ME1's lead location designer, whether he was fired or revised his views, and Attack of the Clones is no longer his favorite Star Wars movie. The locations are nice, atmospheric, there is something to look for (Ilium landscapes, tropical planets) and finally they stopped repeating. Even side quests take place in unique locations - which should be standard from the start, not just now, but importantly there is. The NPCs, although mostly built of the same bricks, do not offend enough to bother you (well ... if you do not look at the dance floor). Even if they were a little bigger and there were several paths leading to the destination more often, I would be very happy. In the current version, the linearity of the location does not let you get lost anywhere even for a moment, so why the radar on the side?

It is a pity that the developers have almost completely removed the old locations from the game. I was really looking forward to the journey around the rebuilding Citadel, and here is such a zonk. Certainly, somewhere you could buy some sensible armor for our hero, or at least piranhas ... Fortunately, there are many references to the first part, be it in the Codex, local news or in NPC dialogues. And if at least some of the mail we receive was changed into meetings with living people, it would be great.

I even like the new combat system (because I like good shooters), the previous one was also dependent on our own skills, now the creators have gone in this direction even more. It is true that this system is far from the loveliness of battles with Gears of War, and possibly
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney.

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Leriel
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Mass Effect

Post by Leriel » Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:52 am


The ability to modify equipment / weapons and the list of biotic powers that could be counted on the fingers of one hand is a mockery, but you can't have everything. At least Bioware has stopped claiming to be doing an RPG. It's a pity, because they used to be very good at it ...
Scanning planets is as big a cretinism as Mako's mountain rides, why put such pesky clogs into the game?

And now the most important thing, i.e. relations with the NPCs and the story. I have already written a bit about the first element. I really liked the dialogues with the Salarian, the rest is much worse compared to him. Yes, everyone has problems and opinions, but none of it really interested me. Maybe because of too superficial presentation of many things - one interview after recruitment, we go on a mission, come back, a loyalty mission and it's ready - we have a companion who will give his life for us. Is this the only thing that seems such a stretch to me? And this unfortunate "romance". This is no romance, just casual sex, because when was she going to develop a deep emotional bond that could be called an affair between Shepard and Jacob? I've been on the team with him twice, at the very beginning and during the loyalty mission, add a few short dialogues to that and is this going to be an affair? Ehh ... There is hardly any interaction between our commodities. They do not exchange opinions, do not conduct independent dialogues, and are occasionally interfered with in the talks between Shepard and the principals. The group I gathered is an explosive mixture, and the only conflict that occurs on board is a small skirmish between Legion and Tali (and not right away, right after his recruitment, Tali had nothing to say to me ...). The most interesting couple on the ship are the Joker and EDI. What about the rest? Everyone sits locked in their cabin and contemplates their own fate. What would happen if someone walked around the ship and the game couldn't stand it? I see a lot of wasted potential here.

In turn, the main plot is playing for about 5 hours? No balls, it took me so long to complete MW2: / Not that the tasks for our comrades were bad, but I have the impression that I am playing a set of additional missions for ME1, and not a full-fledged continuation. What's worse, the story itself neither surprises nor captivates (partly thanks to the specific marketing policy of EA and Bioware, who have already shown a lot before the premiere). The destinies of the kidnapped people could be guessed, even after some statements about the habits of the Reapers from ME1. The game basically ends where it just starts to kick off (last outro scene) like some goddamn show. After all, the Zbieraczy / Protean theme could be significantly expanded, as well as the geth heretics theme and our relationship with Cerberus. The suicide mission itself takes only 1-2 hours of playing, and if we are well prepared, there is nothing suicidal in it. And where the hell was Shepard and the * whole * crew in that flawed attack on Normandy? For the Joker to do everything himself ... I won't say I'm happy. Side quests of such quantity and quality (let's say) are a step in the right direction, but keeping the story short as much as possible is a failure. I didn't feel at all that I was taking part in any larger story. It's just that the lapse of time (several dozen hours) between the beginning of the game and its end is too much for such a short content. I remember that when I was going through Final Fantasy X, it took me over 40 hours to complete the main plot itself. Even the weak storyline Dragon Age at least has a decent length.

Summa summarum game could be much better. A lot of good but underdeveloped ideas were put into ME2, hence my disappointment. Let some of these bizarre DLCs come out (and let it be something better than another messy companion or a set of weapons), then I'll think about it. Although when the game fails me in terms of its plot, and there are no advantages that would compensate for it, I usually do not come back to it. It is true that I wonder if it was in the Renegade version, but when I think that in order to finish the game positively, you have to go through all the meaningless and unrelated missions for your companions again, something in me rebels against such a waste of time.

And now I'm taking Bioshock 2 for the wallpaper. It is also a title that I expect a lot from, I hope it will come out better than ME2 when confronted with my expectations.
We are all searching for someone whose demons play well with ours.

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Eredin
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Mass Effect

Post by Eredin » Sun Dec 19, 2021 6:50 am


I fired up Mass Effect 1 and it hits me every now and then. Once there is "downtime" from time to time, i.e. the game stutters for a minute, it still quite often throws me out of the game. Terribly annoying. Overall, I like the perception of the characters through the prism of the story we have chosen. The fight is also quite interesting. As for the climate of the world ... I don't feel it.
Don’t Let Yesterday Take Up Too Much Of Today

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Takwir
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Mass Effect

Post by Takwir » Sun Dec 19, 2021 8:46 am


When I have time, and I have little time now, I cut in Mass Effect 2. The game is much better than its predecessor (although I have to admit that the main plot was very murky), the fight is now almost pure tactical FPS (headshots count!) , but also side quests are much more interesting than those from the first one. And the character development mechanic has been changed (Weapon combat progresses through technology, not skill points. Btw, skills can be reset, something like a talent reset in WoW)

I did the only one once. Guy, stormtrooper (pick up and shotgun // spell), hero, earth-born, right-handed character, I flew Ashley: P In two, I imported a character (pull and shot with a heavy pistol // spell). The three will also be able to be imported. Given the number of possibilities, this trilogy will have a fair number of possible transition permutations. So I have another topic for a talk about intertexts
Courage does not always roar. Valor does not always shine.

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Brerg
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Mass Effect

Post by Brerg » Sun Dec 19, 2021 10:44 am


Yesterday I finished Mass Effect 2 for the second time and I can't wait for the three. The first time I played as a right-hand stormtrooper (imported character from the first part) and I developed the tactic of charge and shotgun // spell. At the end I lost Mordin and Krios (and they had loyalty quests). The second time I played a ruthless lady soldier (also an imported character) with a maximum roll. The fight was almost idyllic (rox sniper rifle). At the end, there were no losses in the team (apart from equipment and loyalty quests, apparently "out-of-the-box" dialogue lines and the selection of "tasks" are important):

Pole Technician: Legion
Biotic Shield: Samara
Fire and subversive group commander: Jacob
Crew escort: Tali
Final Fight: Miranda and Mordin

I'm tempted to go a third time.
Death is lighter than a feather. Duty, heavier than a mountain.

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Anansi
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Mass Effect

Post by Anansi » Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:15 pm


Ha, I graduated from Mass Effect with the girl power team (my lady soldier, Tali and Liara); generally a walk in the park, specialization rules. After a few of my crushing retorts, Saren smacked himself in the head, in the meantime I had a picturesque shot at Liara (the best interspecies lesbian erotic scene in the history of role-playing game, that's what), beat up a lot of unkind and saved the universe or something like that. I'll get a two, see how it unfolds.
For now, a return to the roots, that is, the brilliant ADOM; I have a gray wizard elf on level 12, a sweeper over scavengers, the future looks bright, because I haven't caught a single mutation yet, I have a kiurlajta in the spellbook, and on my back I have a tattoo "Walk with fire with me": mrgreen:. There's probably a lame goblin waiting for me around the corner with my name on it, but the save copy trick works fine. Unless fat eats me in the dark. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh.
Everybody going to be dead one day, just give them time

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fabulousfreesia
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Mass Effect

Post by fabulousfreesia » Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:54 pm


Mass Effect 1 and 2 finished several times and the sad truth:
Great storyline but 0 RPG. Especially "one" is for the soup - all skills are useless, the power of the gun is important. Play without developing trees and you'll find out. In addition, playing the same character at the highest level is like taking a walk with a child in the park. Playing at this level from scratch is only a bit more difficult.
But I am also waiting for a part of it, because the plot and gameplay are rocking.

My KOTOR2 is finally working but what a disappointment. First stop - pudding boredom, how could this game be more than "one"?
Now that I have the light gladiolus (fortunately I got it before finding the first Jedi), the plot goes on. Maybe I will even find it more interesting than the first one.

Due to the initial damage to KOTOR2 I uploaded Planescape - it looks nice, I really like the combination of crpg and textbook - a large part of the game is in descriptions and dialogues, it's a pity that this idea was not continued in subsequent games.

I wonder whether to buy an Alpgha protocol for the holidays or an adventure game. Maybe I'll risk Hero�s 5 first and give them a chance
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.

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Hawking
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Mass Effect

Post by Hawking » Sun Dec 19, 2021 2:49 pm


Recently, in my spare time (which is rarely) I am tattooing Mass Effect 2 on the insane difficulty level. I am a law-abiding adept and I managed to pass Horizon the first time (without changing the level!) And it was rather a matter of choosing a team, because I had badly written talents (after the mission I did a reset and I knocked everything into peculiarity, deformation and profession). I took Grunt and Mordin for the action. Story. Throwing deformation from behind the corner is probably the best part of this game, although a better patent is the pull + deformation or singularity plus deformation combo *, the Mordin cryoblast + my deformation is also great.

And the Geth Pulse Rifle in the paw. Accurate as hell, only eats up ammo fast :(

* You pull off the guy's shield / armor, throw a singularity from above, the guy is shot upwards. Then you bang the strain from below ... no chance for him to survive
Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. Stephen Hawking.

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Irakhash
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Mass Effect

Post by Irakhash » Sun Dec 19, 2021 3:49 pm


Encouraged by spell, I played at the highest level of Mass Effect2 as an adept, but it is very difficult for me to play. I'm on the 8th level, so rather bad and I landed on a planet where robots attack me like zombies and the land I took with me can't do anything to them because they have armor. Frustrating map. I was already reaching the ship when the idiot comrades decided to come out from behind the cover where I told them to sit and crammed himself under the fire and I had to start all over again (goal - not to lose a companion in any mission). This * wounded adept has only one skill that can harm characters in armor - deformation (and this big robot is even immune to that) - I throw this adept and play a guardian (biotics + technique). Playing a Stormtrooper or a soldier, I did not experience such frustration. Brr ...
Mortals cannot perceive me with the physical eye whilst in my pure form unless it is of my choosing, for it would result in fatality, which begs the question of why you are an exception.

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Kaikki
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Mass Effect

Post by Kaikki » Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:39 pm


A short romance with NWN 2 - where can the creators of this something be asked to return a few hours of life that are irretrievably lost? D�izas, this game has two strong points and a list of shortcomings longer than the phone book of the Masovian Voivodeship. Brrrr, evil.

But now I have become irretrievably lost in Mass Effect 2 and the changes compared to the first one are revolutionary (improved mechanics, combat much more murderous - you will leave the cover and die, better powers). And most of all, a nice main plot, a few great characters (Mordin and Jack crush and trample among novices, Tali has gained sex appeal from her old friends, Garrus has even more class, Joker finally gets up from the chair, meeting with Ash ice cream and honey, and it's fun know that Liara has positioned herself); it's full of little treats (who's the worst motherfucker in the galaxy? Newton, soldier!: Mrgreen: And the salarian, turian and man at the bachelor party or the asari matriarch behind the bar crush). I like the hell the cinematic aspect of some moments of this game, no more talking about graphics, here is camera manipulation - conversation with Aria - "There's only one rule on Omega - don't fuck with Aria" and the print on her lips is a championship world, and there are many such dialogues. Finally, the equipment was put in order, the Mako was thrown into the cold space, the tiring visiting every second planet on foot was abandoned. It hurts a bit to reduce the side threads (we have a total of main missions, recruitment, lobbies and a few independent quests), but on the other hand, the main plot itself is enough. And finally, we have a variety of locations and the n-th base cannot be walked with closed eyes, because the mappers have worked. Wieeeeeeeeelki waaaaaagh for the creators. 9/10.

EDIT: and I forgot about the sweetest honey, that is about the actions of the renegade. The idealist's actions are usually boring in the style of saving someone from death, while the left button of the mouse gives us wild fun ("Is it true that your actions during the Sovereign's attack on the Citadel resulted in the death of the Council and over 10,000 victims? - left button - drastic change in the course of the live interview: mrgreen :).

An affair with Jack, of course (though Tali was tempting too) - Miranda, although my thirteen-year-old inside had spasms on the first contact, turned out to be unworthy of the broken scotch. In the second attempt, it will be necessary to take Samara (real milfs start at 400 years and up: mrgreen :)
I think love is stronger than habits or circumstances. I think it is possible to keep yourself for someone for a long time and still remember why you were waiting when she comes at last.

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